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4 Natural Highs (That Are Legal, and Good for You!)

Want to get high--the natural way? Who doesn't want a rush of feel-good endorphins, right? I have three healthy ideas...

Legal, healthy and effective ways to rush your body with feel-good hormones? Here are four proven ways to get you smiling:

1. Eat a square of dark chocolate: Researchers have proven the connection between improved moods and chocolate-eating. What's going on here? Dark chocolate contains lots of antioxidants that can trigger the release of energizing, happiness-boosting endorphins into your bloodstream. So, yes, there really is such a thing as a chocolate high!

2. Go on a jog:Glamour's very own Anne Sachs, who is training for her first marathon (be sure to cheer her on!) got to the bottom of the so-called runner's high in a recent post, and yes, my dears, it is a real thing. While it doesn't happen to everyone, if you're lucky enough to get that rush of feel-good endorphins that experts call the "runner's high" count yourself as lucky. It's wonderful (and it's one of the reasons why I love jogging so much!).

3. Breastfeed your baby: I know, clearly you have to have a baby to do this, but if you're pregnant or thinking about having kids, don't rule out breastfeeding! It's so good for your kiddo, of course, but a lot of people don't know that it also has health benefits for moms too (including cancer-prevention for mamas!). Yes, it isn't easy (I'm the first to admit that--I'm now nursing baby #3), but if you can manage to do it, it comes with some rewards for you, namely, the rush of comforting, feel-good oxytocin flooded into your body during and after nursing.

4. Juice some veggies and drink up: People who are into juicing (which I have started doing again every morning) claim that you can actually feel a high from veggies (you can read an interesting story about that here). While research hasn't proven this, there's a lot of anecdotal evidence that drinking juices made with lots of greens and vegetables can leave you with a feeling of well-being, even a buzzed sensation. And, the other day, for the first time, this happened to me. Thirty minutes after downing my morning spinach-carrot-apple-ginger-orange juiced creation, I was sitting at my desk feeling really light, and well, sort of buzzed (giggle). How weird is this? I don't have any scientific explanation to offer other than calling it the mysterious veggie buzz. Intriguing, yes? Almost makes me want to go juice another glass!